LPN to RN

Nurse Practitioners Offer Both Care and Cures

Nurse Practitioners have provided expert primary care services to patients since the 1960's when a nationwide shortage of physicians gave rise to the profession. Nurse Practitioners are registered nurses who have completed a Master's Degree in Nursing Science with specialization in one or more practice areas such as Family, Adult, Emergency, or Oncology to name a few. Most Nurse Practitioners have an average of eight years of clinical nursing experience prior to graduation from Master's in Nursing programs, making them expert providers of primary and specialty care.

Nurse Practitioners provide primary, acute, and specialty healthcare services similiar to those provided by physicians but unlike physicians, Nurse Practitioners focus on the wellness of the whole person rather than just the specific health problem the individual is seen for. While the Medical profession provides services that focus predominantly upon cure, Nurse Practitioners place an emphasis upon both cure and care- providing patients and their families with a distinctly unique blend of nursing and medical services.

Nurse Practitioners practice nursing under the guidelines of the Nurse Practice Acts of their respective state, and as such they can practice independantly in clinical practices of their own as well as practice in a collaborative mode with physicians. They see patients within their specialty area and can independantly order and interpret diagnostic tests, diagnose and treat medical problems, prescribe medications and treatments as needed, and manage the patient's care. Nurse Practitioners spend an average of 31% more time with patients they see than physicians and patients managed by Nurse Practitioners tend to have a lower rate of emergency room admissions and a lower average hospital length of stay.

While Nurse Practitioners may practice collaborately with Physician's Assistants in some settings such as Emergency Departments, Nurse Practitioners are distinctly different from Physician's Assistants in clinical experience, educational preparation, and autonomy. Nurse Practitioners have years of clinical experience in addition to advanced education at the Master's level or above and can practice autonomously. A Physician's Assistant's education, on the other hand, is solely competency based - (mastery of certain clinical skills taught in their PA program), and Physician's Assistants can not practice autonomously, but rather, must practice directly under a physician's supervision.

The median expected salary for a typical Nurse Practitioner in the United States is $74,684 according to www.cnn.money.com (July, 2006).

Become a Nurse Practitioner
Schools Offering Online or Local Nurse Practitioner Programs:

The College Network partners with leading accredited universities to offer distance learning programs to busy adults. Over 85,000 adult learners have relied on TCN to advance their education. More Information

RN to M.S. in Nursing M.S. in Nursing M.S. in Healthcare Administration

Join the more than 171,000 professionals who are becoming trained leaders in Nursing thanks to the University of Phoenix Online. More Information

M.S. in Nursing M.S. in Nursing/Health Care Ed. M.S. in Nursing/Integrative Health Care M.S. in Nursing/MBA/Health Care Mgmt.

Walden University offers advanced nursing degrees online designed with the working nursing professional in mind. More Information

RN to M.S. in Nursing M.S. in Nursing M.S. in Nursing/Education M.S. in Nursing/Management and Leadership Master of Public Health